Our EXPERIENCE

Makes the DIFFERENCE

Child Custody / Visitation / Allocation Of Parental Responsibility

Child custody can be a complex area of the law. This is especially true given the wide variety of emotions that parents tend to be feeling during a divorce and subsequent child custody hearing. Custody of a child is awarded to the parent deemed to be most competent to make important decisions for their health as well as the one most apt to spend time with them and help them grow into healthy and well-adjusted adults.

At Van Der Snick Law Firm, LTD we believe that parents and children belong together. We will work hard to ensure that you receive a fair amount of time with your child, and that your rights are upheld throughout the child custody process.

The Purpose of Child Custody Agreements

When it comes the parental responsibilities associated with taking care of a child, there is a wide variety of daily tasks that are often performed. These include such things as getting your child up and ready for school, feeding them, making sure they maintain proper hygiene, and are adequately dressed.

These responsibilities also entail ensuring that your child is taken care of when ill, including taking them to the doctor for regularly scheduled appointments. They also include making sure your child is safety taken to and from extracurricular activities, that they attend school and do their best, and that they have adequate entertainment to keep their growing minds engaged. Things like providing your children with adequate shelter as well as clothing and food are, of course, also included in child custody agreements.

Understanding the Difference Between Joint and Sole Custody

One common concern clients tend to have with regards to child custody has to do with understanding what distinguishes sole and joint custody. Joint custody is the preferred custody arrangement. This kind of custody includes both parents interacting and making decisions about the well-being of their child. They must work together to jointly care for the child in question. When this arrangement simply isn’t possible, one parent might be awarded sole custody with the other receiving visitation rights. That means that one parent has physical custody of the child and is responsible for making the decisions about their daily care as well as bigger decisions that might affect them on a more long-term basis. The parent with visitation rights has the right to see their child at the appointed time while doing accepted and usually pre-arranged activities.

Who is Eligible to File for Custody?

Establishing legal claim to a child in order to file a child custody request is not always as cut and dried as it might seem. This is particularly true with cases in which paternity has yet to be established, or in situations in which neither parent is qualified to take on the custody of the child. In the former situation, paternity will need to be determined before the child custody hearing can move forward. In the latter, an additional party must apply for child custody and prove that they are able to provide the child in question with safe care. An individual such as a stepparent, for example, may decide to seek custody of a child either when another parent dies or evidence suggests that they have permanently abandoned their child. In general, however, most divorce cases that result in child custody hearings result with at least one of the biological parents obtaining custody of the child. If you are worried about a child custody hearing, be sure to contact an experienced family law attorney as soon as possible to discuss the case.